Veselovskii Alexander

(1838 - 1906), with 1870. Professor of St. Petersburg University, from 1877. Academician. He received his early education in Moscow, where he and a university course on the literary department, dealing mainly under the guidance of Professor Buslaeva, Bodyansky and Kudryavtseva. At the end of the course went abroad, first to Spain, where he stayed for about a year, then in Germany, where he attended lectures in various universities of the German professors of Germanic and Romance Philology (cm. reports Veselovskogo about classes during his business trip abroad in 1862 - 63 years in the Journal of the Ministry of National Education ", h. CXVIII - CXXI), in the Czech Republic, and finally to Italy, where he stayed for several years and published his first great work, in Italian, in Bologna ( "II paradiso degli Alberti", in "Scelte di curiosita litterarie", for 1867 - 69 years). Subsequently, this work has been altered by the author in Russian ( "Villa Alberti, new materials for the characteristics of literary and social change in Italian life XIV - XV centuries, MA, 1870; Master's thesis). Foreword to the publication of the text, first traced Veselovsky, a study about the author of the novel and its relationship to contemporary literary trends have been recognized by foreign scholars (Fel. Liebrecht, Gaspari, KцІrting, etc.) in many ways exemplary, but most of the work attributed to the author, Giovanni de Prato, is only of historical interest. Veselovsky pointed to the special importance of the study of these monuments, in connection with the so-called transitional periods in history, and made more in 1870. ( "Moscow University Izvestia, . N 4) a general view of the importance of the Italian Renaissance - a glance, . who supported them, and subsequently, . in the article "The contradictions of the Italian Renaissance" (Journal of the Ministry of National Education ", . 1888), . but in a more profound and thoughtful wording,
. By the same period of revival in the different countries of Europe include a series of essays, . which have been published mainly in the Journal of Europe: on Dante (1866), . of Giordano Bruno (1871), . of Francesco de Barberino and Boccaccio ( "Conversation", . 1872), . of Rabelais (1878), . of Robert Greene (1879) and others,
. With a doctorate thesis on Veselovskii joined area historical comparative study of the whole people legends ( "Slavic legends of Solomon and Kitovras and Western legends Morolf and Merlin", . Petersburg., . 1872), . and in a separate article explained the importance of historical and comparative method, . advocate of which he made ( "Journal of the Ministry of National Education", . h,
. CLII). In defending the theory of literary borrowing (Benfey, Dunlop-Liebrecht, Pypin), in contrast to the old school (Yak. Grimm and his followers), . explaining the similarity of different stories from the Indo-European peoples of their common source in the Indo-European tradition, . Veselovskii tinted the importance of Byzantium in the history of European culture and pointed to its role of intermediary between East and West,
. Subsequently Veselovskii repeatedly returned to the subject, complementing and partially correcting it made earlier assumptions. In particular they studied in detail the cycles of legends about Alexander the Great ( "On the sources of the Serbian Alexandria" - "From the history of the novel and novella, 1886)," The Trojan acts "(ibid., t. II; ibid analysis of stories about Tristan, Bove and Attila), "On returning to the emperor" (the revelation and Methodius Byzantine Emperor Saga and Germany), in a number of essays under the title: "Experiments on the history of Christian legends". Research Veselovskogo on folk literature, . is on folklore in the narrow sense of the word (comparison of similar beliefs, . traditions and rituals from different nations), . scattered in his writings on the monuments of ancient literature and in its reports on new books and journals on the ethnography, . Ethnology and t,
. n.; these reports were published mainly in the Journal of the Ministry of National Education ". Veselovskii repeatedly turned on and consideration of issues on the theory of literature, choosing the subject of their readings at the university "the theory of poetic delivery in their historical development". The question of the origin of lyric poetry devoted to the review Veselovskogo on "Materials and Research PP. Chubynskyi, article: "History and Theory romanaN" in "Memoirs of the 2 nd Division of the Academy of Sciences" (1886). Consideration of various theories about the origin of the national epic (Wed. Notes and doubts about the comparative study of the medieval epic, "Journal of the Ministry of National Education, 1868) is devoted to a number of studies. General views of the author described in various articles about the new books: "Comparative Mythology and its method, . about labor de Gubernatisa (Journal Europe, . 1873), "A new book about the mythology", . about thesis Voevodsky (ibid., . 1882), "New studies of the French epic" ( "Journal of the Ministry of National Education", . 1885),
. Although Veselovskii put the study of folk epics on the ground of the comparative consideration of oral and book tradition in different literatures, but the main object of his research, he chose a Russian folk epic (cm. "South Russian epic) and undertook a series of" Researches in the field of Russian religious verses ". The content of "seeking the" very diverse, and frequently the prayers of spiritual folk poetry are merely a pretext for separate trips to different areas of literature and folk life (eg, . Issue IV), . and in applications published for the first time many of the ancient texts written in different languages,
. Veselovskii showed a rare gift for languages and, not being a linguist in the narrow sense of the word, learned most neoevropeyskih (medieval and modern) languages are widely using this for their historical and comparative studies. The theory of borrowing, in whose favor Veselovskii led a number of brilliant proof, thanks to his broad erudition and skillful direction of transmission routes, finally undermined the old building on the basis of alleged myths. Veselovskii stopped in their works only on the application and explaining the theory of borrowing. Putting in the very beginning of its activities, the question of borders and the conditions of creativity "in general, . He studied these conditions and boundaries in different directions: from the historical, cultural, historical and comparative studies in the field of folk literature, . monuments and international stories, . He goes on to analyze the personal work of outstanding writers (cm,
. "Boccaccio, . his environment and peers ", . 1894, "a poetic confession Petrarca Canzoniere, . 1304 - 1904 years ", the major work of Zhukovsky - (Poetry of feelings and the heart of imagination", . 1904, "Pushkin, the national poet", etc.) and then how to concentrate its forces, . mainly, . on developing the foundations of historical poetics,
. Such a poetics, which he had in mind to create, was to cover a broad synthesis of all forms and types of poetry, solving the question of the genesis of birth of poetry on the principle of strict historicism. To accomplish this task is quite universal level he failed, . but in a number of articles, . devoted to issues of poetics ( "From the introduction to the historical poetics", . "From the history of the epithet", . Epic repetition ", . "Psychological Parallelism", . Three chapters of historical poetics "; cm,
. first volume "Collected Works"), . them with sufficient clarity the ways and methods in dealing with the origin of poetry, . differentiation of its delivery from the original syncretism, . selection songs from the ceremony, . transition from a "collective" to personal creativity, . analysis of different attributes of poetry and poetic language,
. Positivist and analyst, Veselovskiy cast any a priori construction and taken before the category, pushing the definition on the basis of abstract signs, holding a strict sequence of facts. He grouped them or in the historical continuity, . or in the evolutionary construction, . do not hesitate to take the latter purpose, the facts from various sources, . clarifying the gaps of the past observations on the present, . bridging phenomenon in the lower and higher levels of creativity, . when they are caused by similar mental conditions,
. It seemed he really was ready to cover the whole field of artistic creation and as a man would tie her inexorable laws of determinism. Questions of the genesis and evolutionary processes it is particularly fascinated by. Aesthetics, he naivozmozhno rounds, if not completely denied, but he showed unmistakable aesthetic sense in many evaluations and reviews. Without solving the questions about the essence of talent and genius, Veselovskiy sought to bring the laws of poetry, mainly from observations on the "group" phenomena and "collective subjectivity". The grand plan, over which Veselovskii steadily worked all his life, remained unfinished, but, perhaps, he could not be carried out within the limits of positive historicism, which Veselovsky himself outlined. They bagged a number of very valuable observations and conclusions on individual phenomena of verbal creativity; collected enormous material, . indicative of the erudition, . sort of did not have none of the contemporary scholars - philologists, . Historians literature, . ethnographers and folklorists, made several important generalizations and the ways for further work,
. Correct and supplement it is always easier than to create anew. - Death Veselovskogo raised a number of obituaries and articles of Professor FA. Brown (in the Journal of the Ministry of National Education, 1907, N 4); Professor D.K. Petrova, AN. Veselovskii and his historical poetics "(ibid); EV. Anichkov in the "Country", 1906, October; Fd. Batiushkov in the "Speeches", 1906, October. Extensive essays research activities Veselovsk: EV. Anichkov (in the theory and the psychology of creativity ", I, Kharkov, 1911); AN. Pypin "History of Russian Ethnography" (1891, t. II; in the annex gives a brief autobiography Veselovskogo). - The Complete Works of Igor's done after his death, the Imperial Academy of Sciences, under the supervision of a special commission of former students Veselovsky. All publications are distributed on 8 series. Been printed volumes III and IV (from the series: Italy and the Renaissance), under the editorship of Professor D.K. Petrova (1908 - 09). Finish printing the first two volumes ( "Poetics"), the first under the editorship of Fd. Batiushkov, the second (posthumous publication of the manuscript), edited by VF. Shishmarev. Biography Veselovskogo is prepared for publication by his son, Alexander Alexandrovich Veselovsky. - Wed. "Index to scientific works AN. Veselovskogo, 1859 - 95 "(St. Petersburg, 1896) and P.K. Simonyi "To XL-anniversary-trained for the professors and literary activities of Academician AN. Veselovskogo "(St. Petersburg, 1906). F. Sir.